For all Cardiff City fans who aren't from Cardiff

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Sorry Mate, I meant in Newport.

It's strange you should say that , I am not doubting your word, but the newport county websites are full of venom towards cardiff city . Are you saying walking around john frost square in a bluebirds top is a safe occupation ?

[mbatte]

What made you choose Cardiff City over Swansea City? Was it personal choice, family? Location etc ?
If your from Bridgend (roughly half way), what swayed you?

I'm from Carmarthen, went to college in Swansea. Grew up following rugby so been a Scarlets fan all my life... only got into football when I was 18. My uncle moved to Cardiff in the early 80s and became a fan he took me to my first game.... 1999/2000 season when we were relegated from the second division. 1-1 draw against Oldham.... followed City while I lived in London, used to come back to visit my uncle and go to the odd game, moved to Cardiff in 2007 and still here, season ticket holder... wouldn't support any other club!

[J R Hartley]

Do you remember big nick from tredegar ?

Used to wear a yellow french foreign legion type of baseball cap

Was there home and away for many years then just stopped

Bald head?

Think he watches Merthyr now. Or did I hear he died? One of the two anyway.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Bald head?

Think he watches Merthyr now. Or did I hear he died? One of the two anyway.

That's him

A nurse

[J R Hartley]

That's him

A nurse

Sure he watches Merthyr now.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

I'm from Carmarthen, went to college in Swansea. Grew up following rugby so been a Scarlets fan all my life... only got into football when I was 18. My uncle moved to Cardiff in the early 80s and became a fan he took me to my first game.... 1999/2000 season when we were relegated from the second division. 1-1 draw against Oldham.... followed City while I lived in London, used to come back to visit my uncle and go to the odd game, moved to Cardiff in 2007 and still here, season ticket holder... wouldn't support any other club!

Remember a bloke called John from llanelli was a big cardiff fan , used to travel on our bus , llanelli used to have a fair few cardiff fans back then .....2010

[City123]

Old man used to watch the city but moved away from Wales in the late 70s. We moved back in the late 80s not long after I was born

City would've been the closest football league side growing up too so if you wanted a fix of professional football then Ninian Park was the closest ground in which to see it.

Always thought despite it being in the same ground how different the experience must’ve been for my dad, going from 2nd tier and regular European football to 3rd/4th tier yo yo club with a few thousand in attendance. May have felt a little like watching a different club in a way.

City has tended to feel a bit like a regional “South (East) Wales” club to me and I can’t say I overtly identify with Cardiff in a civic sense as I’m not from there. I like the place itself don’t get me wrong, lived there very happily for the best part of a decade and knew it fairly well.

Appreciate it may sound strange to a Cardiffian but for me the club could’ve been from any area of South Wales really. Sure there must be other places with a scarcity of professional clubs where this might happen - Tyne and Wear, Norfolk?

I agree, Cardiff are pretty much a south east Wales club, just take a look at the flags at games and you'll see places like Barry, Risca, Caerphilly etc

[Wash DC Blue]

It's strange you should say that , I am not doubting your word, but the newport county websites are full of venom towards cardiff city . Are you saying walking around john frost square in a bluebirds top is a safe occupation ?

John Frost Square is no longer there.
But yes, I’ve seen plenty of City shirts in town when I’ve been back.

Many of the old County lads are friends with City lads from the 80’s.

Some do hate City but mainly it’s good natured ribbing and a passing interest in how they are doing.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

John Frost Square is no longer there.
But yes, I’ve seen plenty of City shirts in town when I’ve been back.

Many of the old County lads are friends with City lads from the 80’s.

Some do hate City but mainly it’s good natured ribbing and a passing interest in how they are doing.

Lemmy was one of the older county fans , no longer with us

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Villa were my first team when I got into football when I was about 10. Purely a random pick. Family never interested in it at all but all the kids at school supported Man Utd or Liverpool. I had to be different.

The first game I ever went to was Swansea vs Wolves in September 1988. A friend of the family was a Jack and a season ticket holder on the North Bank. I went along and, for devilment decided to cheer on Wolves. They won 5-2 and me cheering each Wolves goal didn't go down too well. The family friend never asked me to go to a game again. I have no idea why I rebelled against Swansea for no real reason.

I then discovered Cardiff had a team and kept an eye on their results, completely unaware of any rivalry with Swansea. Villa were my team for about 3 or 4 years until others at youth orchestra were Cardiff fans. They sowed the seed in my head that I should support a Welsh team being a Welshman. We'd regularly chat about City for weeks and years afterwards even if we hardly ever went to a game.

It might seem strange but I have no idea what my first Cardiff game was. Once or twice a season in the late 90s I'd make a game, then when I passed my driving test in 2000 I went down as often as I could, getting season tickets from time to time.

[Wash DC Blue]

Lemmy was one of the older county fans , no longer with us

Yeah, nice fella Lemmy.
Heartbreaking what happened to him.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Yeah, nice fella Lemmy.
Heartbreaking what happened to him.

Yes , not a nice way to go

[Penybont Blue]

As the name suggests I’m from Bridgend. My reason is
A. I’m not in bred
B. My aunty’s boyfriend ( now Uncle) was a Cardiff fan, she went to games and so she bought me a scarf for my 5th birthday, and so that was that.

[Jordi Culé]

When I was an impressionable teenager Merthyr was blue. It was the height of the hooligan era late 80s / early 90s and it was certainly not a safe place for the few Jacks in town. Supporting Swansea was not something you broadcast around Merthyr in those days.

These days since the 7 years the Jacks spent in the PL there’s a lot more Jacks in Merthyr. I’d still say the town was blue but not the large majority that it used to be.

I know what you’re saying about Jacks been more visible but I think that more people from the area actually go and watch City. Mid 80s to early 90s you practically knew every City supporter that travelled by train on a match day.

I still do a double take on seeing someone in a Jack top in the area and think “cheeky cuunt!”

[the other bob wilson]

There seems to be quite a few Ospreys fans up here at the top of the Rhondda, but I can only remember seeing one Jacks shirt in all of the time I've been up here.

By contrast, it's a regular occurrence to see City tops, but the wearers do tend to be around my age - I've caught a train from Treherbert to games fairly often since I've been up here and there are always a few City fans who get on at every station on the way with Ponty and Porth having the most, but there are always quite a lot who get on in Treorchy.

[Jordi Culé]

There seems to be quite a few Ospreys fans up here at the top of the Rhondda, but I can only remember seeing one Jacks shirt in all of the time I've been up here.

By contrast, it's a regular occurrence to see City tops, but the wearers do tend to be around my age - I've caught a train from Treherbert to games fairly often since I've been up here and there are always a few City fans who get on at every station on the way with Ponty and Porth having the most, but there are always quite a lot who get on in Treorchy.

My impression of the Rhondda that it is overwhelmingly City (always has been). I’ve always thought that (perhaps obviously) the rail network makes City easier to get to than than Swansea. As a kid (I’m 48) there were always City fans visibly present in all the Merthyr, Rhondda, Cynon and Rhymney valley areas. You do get pockets of Jacks though. Traditionally the valleys mentioned have always been City and City’s relative success compared to previous decades has strengthened and attracted new support. There’s more match going supporters here now than I’ve ever known.

[mbatte]

Yes , not a nice way to go

What happened to him?

[Hometown Unicorn!]

I'm from Port Talbot and we've always been City. Majority of my family are Bluebirds bar the odd 1 or 2 who have gravitated to the darkside. My Dad has been watching City home and away since the 70s and has been a season ticket holder for years. Despite that I have always naturally gravitated towards Cardiff, whether it was to do with music, going to gigs and getting records or clothes shopping etc. Not only that, for my club and school team we often played Swansea sides in cup competitions and it was always kicking off in games, not much love lost between Port Talbot and Jack lads, certainly didn't want to head down the Vetch and follow that lot.

As a kid I was obsessed with Gazza after Italia 90, thought he could do anything on a football pitch (including kung fu kicking Gary Charles), so because he played for Spurs I instantly took on Spurs as my English team. My first ever game at NP was a friendly between City vs Spurs in the mid 90s, I think it was a testimonial for one of the Cardiff kitmen(?) but that night I got the buzz for live football and realising it was on the doorstep. My first league game my old man took me to was Halifax on a Friday night, quickly followed by Carlisle Utd and never looked back from there.

[Wash DC Blue]

What happened to him?

Stabbed to death with a Samurai Sword in a pub in Pill by a scummy drug dealing gang because he stood up to them.

[NYCBlue]

I'm from Barry. There are no JB's from Barry. It's all City. (Or plastics)

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

I'm from Port Talbot and we've always been City. Majority of my family are Bluebirds bar the odd 1 or 2 who have gravitated to the darkside. My Dad has been watching City home and away since the 70s and has been a season ticket holder for years. Despite that I have always naturally gravitated towards Cardiff, whether it was to do with music, going to gigs and getting records or clothes shopping etc. Not only that, for my club and school team we often played Swansea sides in cup competitions and it was always kicking off in games, not much love lost between Port Talbot and Jack lads, certainly didn't want to head down the Vetch and follow that lot.

As a kid I was obsessed with Gazza after Italia 90, thought he could do anything on a football pitch (including kung fu kicking Gary Charles), so because he played for Spurs I instantly took on Spurs as my English team. My first ever game at NP was a friendly between City vs Spurs in the mid 90s, I think it was a testimonial for one of the Cardiff kitmen(?) but that night I got the buzz for live football and realising it was on the doorstep. My first league game my old man took me to was Halifax on a Friday night, quickly followed by Carlisle Utd and never looked back from there.

Briton ferry , margam , sandfields , taibach , port talbot town , lots of bluebirds fans over the years

Recent success of swansea has turned a lot of the younger element to swansea but I travelled to a home game from neath a few years back and about 30 fans in blue got on at port Talbot parkway

It's still got large numbers of cardiff fans

[Pedro de la Rosa]

I agree, Cardiff are pretty much a south east Wales club, just take a look at the flags at games and you'll see places like Barry, Risca, Caerphilly etc

There's a lot of Cardiff fans all over Wales. I know a few from Holyhead and that's closer to Dublin than Cardiff!

I'm Chepstow, my dad took me when I knee high and that was it. Good job my first season was exciting, just the 23 draws

[mbatte]

Stabbed to death with a Samurai Sword in a pub in Pill by a scummy drug dealing gang because he stood up to them.

Bloody hell, horrific

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4766438.stm

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

My impression of the Rhondda that it is overwhelmingly City (always has been). I’ve always thought that (perhaps obviously) the rail network makes City easier to get to than than Swansea. As a kid (I’m 48) there were always City fans visibly present in all the Merthyr, Rhondda, Cynon and Rhymney valley areas. You do get pockets of Jacks though. Traditionally the valleys mentioned have always been City and City’s relative success compared to previous decades has strengthened and attracted new support. There’s more match going supporters here now than I’ve ever known.

The main south wales valleys have always been cardiff city strongholds with the exception of aberdare which has a swansea and cardiff fans because it's so easy to get to swansea from the upper areas of the town

Mountain ash , abercynon , treherbert , treorchy, porth , lantrisant , ferndale , bargoed , the merthyr valleys , ebbw vale , blackwood , caerphilly , tredegar , maesteg , cymmer , bridgend valleys , bridgend

There are pockets of swansea fans in towns like pencoed but even here cardiff fans are in the majority

Swansea have always gained their support from the far edge of west glamorgan , the city of swansea itself and west wales like ammanford , cross hands , swansea valley , carmarthen etc

Of course if they win the play offs and stay up forca few years they may nab some fans from us again

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

There's a lot of Cardiff fans all over Wales. I know a few from Holyhead and that's closer to Dublin than Cardiff!

I'm Chepstow, my dad took me when I knee high and that was it. Good job my first season was exciting, just the 23 draws

The holyhead lads used to come by train or minibus

There used to be a north wales supporters club with members in Bangor, caernarfon, colwyn bay , llandudno etc